As a method of paying prize money from an amusement machine, such as a slot machine, in a casino, there is a method of paying bar-code tickets each provided with bar-code information (e.g., a bar-code corresponding to a certain eighteen-digit number), other than a method of directly paying banknotes. In the method in which the amusement machine pays the bar-code tickets as the prize money, the bar-code information concerning each bar-code ticket and an amount of money corresponding to each bar-code ticket are stored in a casino host controller installed in the casino.
When a patron wants to change the bar-code tickets paid from the amusement machine into cash, the patron hands the bar-code tickets to a cashier of the casino, and the cashier reads the bar-code information of each bar-code ticket by using a handy scanner or the like and transmits the bar-code information to the casino host controller. As a result, information related to the amount of money corresponding to the bar-code information is communicated to the cashier of the casino from the casino host controller, and the cashier will hand banknotes and coins to the patron, corresponding to the amount of money.
Otherwise, an automatic cashing machine is installed in the casino, and the patron inserts each bar-code ticket in the automatic cashing machine, so that the bar-code information of each bar-code ticket can be read automatically in the automatic cashing machine. The so-read bar-code information is transmitted to the casino host controller, and the information concerning the amount of money corresponding to the bar-code information is then sent back to the automatic cashing machine from the casino host controller. As a result, banknotes and coins corresponding to the amount of money may be automatically paid to the patron from the automatic cashing machine.
The patron can also use the bar-code tickets obtained from one amusement machine in another amusement machine. In this case, the patron can play a game with another amusement machine by inserting each bar-code ticket in the amusement machine, rather than using banknotes for the amusement machine.
In the method in which the amusement machine pays the bar-code tickets as the prize money as described above, the bar-code tickets must be kept for a period of time in the casino according to the rules. As a method of keeping the bar-code tickets, there are a method of keeping the bar-codes tickets themselves and another method of keeping images of the respective bar-codes tickets after obtaining the images of the bar-code tickets. Then, because of time and labor required for handling a great amount of the bar-code tickets and a space for the custody thereof in the casino, the latter method is currently popular.
More specifically, for example, in a cassette installed in each amusement machine, such as a slot machine, the banknotes and bar-code tickets deposited by each patron are stored in a mixed state. This cassette is detachable from the amusement machine. Thus, when collecting the banknotes and bar-code tickets from each amusement machine, an operator or operators remove the cassettes from the respective amusement machines and collect the banknotes and bar-code tickets in a mixed state from each cassette in a place where the patrons can not enter. Thereafter, among a bundle of the banknotes and bar-code tickets collected in a mixed state, discrimination of denominations of money, counterfeit ones or not and damaged ones or not is performed, for the banknotes. On the other hand, for the bar-code tickets, the bar-code information is read and the images of the respective bar-code tickets are obtained.
As a machine for handling such a bundle of banknotes and/or bar-code tickets collected in a mixed state, for example, one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,476 is known. Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,476 discloses a single machine, which classifies the bundle of banknotes and bar-code tickets in a mixed state into the banknotes and the bar-code tickets respectively, accumulates the banknotes and the bar-code tickets separately, and performs discrimination of the denominations of money, counterfeit ones or not and damaged ones or not, for the banknotes. Meanwhile, for the bar-code tickets, this machine is configured to read the bar-code information.
However, in the machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,476, after the discrimination of the banknotes and the reading of the bar-code information concerning the bar-code tickets, there is a need for taking out a bundle of the bar-code tickets from the machine so as to obtain the images of the bar-code tickets by using another machine, such as an image scanner. Therefore, the operator must do a significantly complicated work. In addition, the images taken from the additional machine, such as an image scanner, can not be associated with the identification data information of each amusement machine, such as a slot machine or the like.
It is also known a paper-sheets handling system that has the apparatus which handles (e.g. counts) the banknotes and the apparatus which reads the bar-code information of the bar-code tickets independently, the banknotes and the bar-code tickets are handled by the corresponding apparatus separately. In such a paper-sheets handling system by using two independent apparatus which handle separately, however, the handling results according to each apparatus are output separately, then it is impossible to comprehend the total handling.
As another example of the machine for handling the bundle of banknotes and bar-code tickets collected in a mixed state, for example, one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,320 is known. U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,320 discloses a single machine which reads the bar-code information of bar-code tickets taken therein and forms the image file from the bar-code information. In such an integrated machine, however, it is not efficient since when the number of sheets of only either one of the banknotes or bar-code tickets is considerably large, it is necessary to increase the integrated machine which can handle both banknotes and bar-code tickets.
It is an object of this invention to provide a paper-sheet handling system and a method of use thereof, which can efficiently handle a bundle of banknotes and bar-code tickets collected in a mixed state, which can be comprehended with both handling operations at one area, and significantly reduce the initial cost if only either one of the banknote handling machine or bar-code ticket handling machine has to be increased when the number of sheets of only either one of the banknotes or bar-code tickets to be handled is considerably large.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a paper-sheet handling system and a method of use thereof, which can reduce handling time by separately handling the banknotes and the bar-code tickets by respectively using the banknote handling machine and the bar-code ticket handling machine when the bundle of paper-sheets to be handled are carried in with the banknotes and the bar-code tickets being respectively classified, rather than being in a mixed state. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of use of a bar-code ticket handling machine, wherein a plurality of bundles of paper-sheets can be collectively handled by using the bar-code ticket handling machine, with the plurality of bundles of paper-sheets being stacked one on another, as such securely reducing the handling time due to the bar-code ticket handling machine.